When a disabled person with crippled legs drives an automobile, it is conventional that he/she uses an automobile of the type having an automatic transmission, driving operation being conducted with an assist tool adapted for one-handed operation of a steering wheel and a drive assistant device adapted for one-handed operation of accelerator and brake pedals. The drive assistant device usually comprises levers for tilting the accelerator and brake pedals through operating arms connected and levers for horizontal movement of the latter, the levers being attached beforehand to a floor or a dashboard lower portion in a driver's cab.
However, such preliminary attachment of the conventional drive assistant device to the automobile makes it difficult for a disabled person with crippled legs to use the automobile in common with able-bodied drivers. Driving schools or car rental companies in general do not hold such special drive assistant device, which fact is inconvenient for a disabled person with crippled legs. Whenever an automobile is owned by a disabled person with crippled legs, such drive assistant device has to be purchased and attached to the owned automobile. Therefore, in a case of replacement by purchase, a drive assistant device has to be also newly purchased, which is uneconomical.
In order to relieve such inconvenience and diseconomy, the inventor proposed a drive assistant device comprising units easily attachable to and detachable from a substantially flat base plate as needs demand said base plate being mounted beforehand on a floor of a driver's cab. The proposed device is disclosed in Reference 1.
A drive assistant device for an automobile disclosed in Reference 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a driver's cab of an automobile with the drive assistant device. FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a support member for a manual-operation-lever lock device as well as a rear portion of a base plate to which the lock device is fitted. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing a front portion of the base plate and a chassis fitted thereto.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 designates an automobile; 2, a driver's cab in the automobile 1; 3, a floor in the cab 2; 4, a base plate arranged on the floor 3; and 5, a rotary shaft for a manual operation lever, the rotary shaft being supported by a support member 6 detachably attached to the base plate 4 as shown in FIG. 2.
The support member 6 has a bottom surface with beveled edges 6a and 6b to be clamped by fixed and movable catching members 7 and 8 on the base plate 4 for detachable attachment of the support member 6. The catching member 8 is pushed and moved by a pusher 11 which in turn is moved in the direction of arrow D1 by push-down of a lever 10 of a clamp unit 9 shown in FIG. 2, so that the edges 6a and 6b on the bottom surface of the support member 6 is clamped for attachment of the support member 6 and the rotary shaft 5 on the base plate 4.
Reference numeral 12 denotes the manual operation lever with a lower end 12a connected through support and connecting members 13 and 14 to the rotary shaft 5 so as to be pivoted in directions of arrow D2 in FIG. 1 about the shaft 5 by a hand (not shown) of a driver for the automobile 1 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).
Reference numeral 15a and 15b denotes switches respectively arranged adjacent to an upper end 12b of the lever 12 and electrically connected to at least a blinker and a horn (not shown) of the automobile 1 through cables 16a and 16b and connectors 17a and 17b so as to control the blinker and horn.
Reference numeral 18 denotes a magnet coil fixed to the connecting member 14 and electrically connected to and controlled by a switch (not shown) other than the switches 15a and 15b through a built-in cable (not shown); 19, a pawl pivotally connected by a horizontal pin to the connecting member 14 and is activated by the magnet coil 18; and 20, a ratchet fixed to the support member 6 on a side with the rotary shaft 5 and adapted to lock the manual operation lever 12 with respect to the support member 13 through engagement with the pawl 19. A manual-operation-lever lock device 21 is constituted by the magnet coil 18, the pawl 19 and the ratchet 20
In FIGS. 1 and 3, reference numeral 22 denotes a chassis formed with rectangular openings 25 and 26 into which inserted are engagement members 23 and 24 fixed to the base plate 4; and 27, a clamp member with a rectangular opening 28 and urged relative to the chassis 22 by a spring 29 in a direction reverse to the direction of arrow D3. The clamp member 27 is once manually displaced in the direction of arrow D3 into engagement with the member 24 and then release of the manual operation causes the member 27 to be urged in the direction reverse to the arrow D3 so that the members 23 and 24 are clamped from opposite sides and thus the chassis 22 is mounted on the plate 4.
In FIGS. 1 and 3, a first rotary shaft 30 extends through a side plate of the clamp member 27 and is rotatably mounted to the chassis 22. The shaft 30 has an end 30a to which a first gear 31 is connected. A brake-pedal pushing arm 32 is connected at its lower end 32a to the shaft 30 so as to be pivoted about the shaft 30 in directions of arrow D4. The pushing arm 32 has, at its portion adjacent to an upper end 32b, a brake-pedal pushing member 34 for pushing a brake pedal 33 of the automobile 1. The pushing member 34 is slidable relative to the pushing arm 32 and axially of the rotary shaft 30; alternatively, the member 34 may be constituted integral with the arm 32.
A second rotary shaft 35 extends through the side plate of the clamp member 27 and is rotatably mounted to the chassis 22. The rotary shaft 35 has an end 35a to which connected is a second gear 36 in mesh with the first gear 31 for contra-rotation of the first and second gears.
An accelerator-pedal pushing arm 37 is connected at its lower end 37a to the rotary shaft 35 so as to be pivoted about the shaft 35 in directions of arrow D4′ in parallel with the directions of arrow D4. The arm 37 has, at its portion adjacent to an upper end 37b, an accelerator-pedal pushing member 39 for pushing an accelerator pedal 38 of the automobile 1. The pushing arm 37 may be slidable relative to and axially of the second rotary shaft 35; alternatively, in place of the arm 37 slidable relative to the second rotary shaft 35, the pushing member 39 may be slidable relative to the pushing arm 37 and axially of the shaft 35. The pushing member 39 may be integral with the arm 37.
Reference numeral 40 designates a pushing-force transmitting arm having one end 40a detachably and pivotally connected to the brake-pedal pushing arm 32 at an intermediate position between its upper and lower ends 32b and 32a and having the other end 40b connected to the connecting member 14 at a position adjacent to its upper end.
A drive assistant device for an automobile shown in FIGS. 1-3 according to Reference 1 may be applicable not only to usual automobiles but also to automobiles owned by driving schools or car rental companies and allows disabled persons and able-bodied drivers to easily use the automobile in common by arranging a base plate 4 on a floor 3 of a driver's cab 2 beforehand upon fabrication of the automobile. The drive assistant device according to Reference 1 is much advantageous for example in that the manual operation lever 12 can be easily locked to enhance a driver 5 safety from the viewpoint of driving operation and in that adjustment may be conducted for easy application to various automobiles different in spacing between the brake and accelerator pedals 33 and 38.
[Reference 1] JP 2000-127795A